4. Upon receipt of any such report, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or such another entity in the Department of Children and Families as may be designated by the Commissioner of Children and Families to investigate child abuse or neglect, shall immediately take such action as shall be necessary to insure the safety of the child and to that end may request and shall receive appropriate assistance from local and State law enforcement officials. A representative of the division or other designated entity shall initiate an investigation within 24 hours of receipt of the report, unless the division or other entity authorizes a delay based upon the request of a law enforcement official. The division or other entity shall also, within 72 hours, forward a report of such matter to the child abuse registry operated by the division in Trenton.
The child abuse registry shall be the repository of all information regarding child abuse or neglect that is accessible to the public pursuant to State and federal law. No information received in the child abuse registry shall be considered as a public record within the meaning of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) or P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.).